The Virtue of a Broken Heart

The Baal Shem Tov once asked his disciple, Rabbi Zev Kitzis, to blow the shofar on Rosh Hashana. Eager to do a good job, he studied all the proper meditations and wrote them down on a slip of paper. This displeased the Baal Shem Tov, and G-d caused the paper to fall out of Rabbi's Zev's pocket. On Rosh Hashana, when he realized that it was gone, he was broken-hearted and burst into tears. Having no choice, he blew the shofar without referring to his notes. The Baal Shem Tov later explained: There are many different chambers and rooms in the King's palace; each meditation is the key to opening a particular door. But a broken heart is the "axe" with which all doors can be broken down and entry gained...